"it was like being seen after perpetual darkness, after a lifetime of silence"

Open letter to my Instagram friends

by ale

I will reserve the small talk and sugar-coating.

We have come to this. A generation so unconsciously obsessed with the popular feeds, photos, relationships and likes on Instagram. You can’t not post at non-peak hours and over posting will lose your follower appeal. Double posting is daring and triple posting a sin, but who has authority over the virtual world to say so? (repeat: who has authority over the virtual world TO SAY SO)

I am sad that we need to have spam accounts to hide from the judgement of an overwhelming number of followers. Photos are now either #mainworthy or #justforspams, building a pretentious culture on Instagram where we only share the aesthetically appealing version of our lives on our mains.

As much as we disgust ourselves with our need to perfect our public profiles and compete with the standards of aesthetic acquaintances, we will not change our habits. This is the state of the Instagram world that has seeped into our real lives long before we came to this realisation. I took a selfie with my friend last week but my hair was a mess and my skin full of blemishes. I did not want to look fake by using MeiTu, so that selfie never went online. I took another selfie today and my hair was in place, brows on point, filter covered all pimples. I was in a good mood after a wedding and so was my friend, so I posted it. What if I had posted both the “ugly” and “pretty” selfies? Will you still vomit sweet words or envious curses on the later? If you won’t, then I wish I had posted both. What if I take another selfie next week? Should I not main it to avoid any accusations of being self-obsessed?

Because what you see in someones photo is essentially a fleeting moment in their lives. I do not want you to become overly conscious with these photographed seconds of your or someone else’s life. I want you to freely share these precious seconds that you have saved in your camera. Something must have made you want to take the photo. Be it a beautiful sunset, formidable chocolate cake, your beautiful friend, that hipster lane in Chinatown or just a day filled with some self-love. I hope the glory of the moment that inspired you to save it forever in your smartphone will give you the confidence to share it with your Instagram friends.

Because if you share your ecstatic moment, I will be delighted that you had an ecstatic moment, and more than thrilled that you are sharing it with me.